RUPERT WALL is head of Sidley’s Global Finance group in Europe.
Rupert has over 20 years’ experience in structured finance transactions involving a diverse range of asset classes (including trade, consumer and other secured and unsecured receivables; auto, student, aircraft, shipping, corporate, mid-market/direct lending and other loans and leases; vehicle rental fleets; and residential and commercial mortgage loans) encompassing a wide range of public and private financing structures (including RMBS, CMBS, ABCP conduits, covered bonds, whole-business securitisations and CLO/CBO/CDOs).
Rupert advises fund sponsors, arrangers, originators, investment managers and investors on all aspects of securitisation, structured finance, asset-backed lending, fund financing and derivatives. He also advises counterparties in relation to general capital markets issuances, leveraged finance transactions and portfolio transactions (both performing and distressed/non-performing).
Rupert consistently receives acknowledgement from industry ranking guides:
The Legal 500 UK (2014 – 2023) – Rupert is recognized as a “Leading Individual” for Securitisation and ranked for Derivatives and Structured Products with clients noting across the years that he is: “…a standout individual. He is able to deploy his extensive experience and deep technical skills to the most challenging transactions. He is highly regarded in the market and incredibly solutions-focused”; “Thorough, extremely experienced and knowledgeable as well as hands on and accessible”; “a standout lawyer for ABS and CLO deals”; “a subject matter expert with the ability to get straight to the point; he has a brain the size of a planet and works very well in high pressure situations”; “one of the brightest young partners in the market” and “responsive, commercially minded” with “considerable experience and talent.”
Chambers UK and Chambers Global (2018 – 2023) – Rupert is ranked for each of Capital Markets: Securitisation; Capital Markets: CLOs as well as Structured Products and Derivatives. Clients have described him in recent years as: “…consistently exceed[ing] our expectations in terms of the breadth and depth of his commercial knowledge and sophistication in the structured credit market”; “very capable and a genuine business adviser. He doesn't waste time on pointless advice and focuses on the issues that count”; “fantastic at client management, his responsiveness and his quality of advice is great”; “extremely knowledgeable and … very engaged in market developments and interesting structural solutions.”; “extremely responsive; he's also fantastic at pro-actively looking for ways to support you. He's very technically capable and will fight for you”; “very personable and he has an excellent approach to solving problems”, “he has excellent market knowledge and a deep understanding of his practice area from CMBS and RMBS to CLOs”; “he will really fight for his clients and on top of that he’s very strong technically”; “business-focused, with a good understanding of market developments”; “technically excellent, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the CLO market”; “thorough and detailed and personable to work with”; and “stand[ing] out as being a valued adviser who, as well as being hugely bright and intellectual, has a unique ability to listen carefully to the often complex commercial dynamics that we require of a transaction and meld those seamlessly into its structure.”
Rupert is also the author of numerous academic and commercial securitisation guides, including:
The England and Wales chapter of the International Comparative Legal Guide to Securitisation every year since 2012 (and for which he has been Contributing Editor to the entire publication since 2020)
The Blockchain Securitisation expert analysis chapter to the International Comparative Legal Guide to Securitisation, 2022
Various Practical Law (PLC) guides and articles on securitisation, including the England and Wales chapter of the “Q&A Guide to Structured Finance and Securitisation” the “CLO: Overview” Practice Note and the “Securitisation: regulatory framework and reforms” Practice Note.